Some people make a connection with another person, and if that relationship becomes love, then the natural progression is to spend the rest of their lives together. From that union, it’s often a normal next step to decide to start a family and raise a child. While most people take this next step using the traditional means of conventional pregnancy, others find naturally conceiving a child to be a monumental challenge.
Often medical circumstances create major obstacles, such as endangering the health of the woman and the child should a pregnancy be attempted or making viable fertilization impossible to carry for nine months without a miscarriage at some point. In these instances, surrogacy may be the solution that a couple seeks if they want to have a newborn child of their own, and sometimes the best way to go about this is to go to surrogacy agencies in the country of Georgia. But why?
What Makes Georgia Different?
Georgia is a country located in Eastern Europe, specifically the “Eurasia” area east of Turkey that is often considered the crossroads between Europe and Asia. Today, however, Georgia is not regarded for its geographical position as a route between two different continents. Georgia is a modern, advanced nation that enjoys political stability and a high degree of modern technology and 21st-century lifestyle.
Visitors to the country of Georgia can enjoy a mix of modern life with fine dining, clubs, and restaurants, but also visit the “old world,” with historical buildings, museums and other cultural relics that preserve Georgia’s past as a gateway nation between two continents.
But for hopeful parents, what separate Georgia from many countries is the fact that its constitution protects the rights of hopeful couples that wish to have a child through a surrogate mother and want to retain legal custody of the child that is born.
In The Constitution
The country of Georgia made sweeping changes to its constitution in the 1990s that ensured that, as long as proper legal contracts were documented, the rights of couples wishing to have a surrogate child would be recognized and protected. Other countries, such as France and Germany, have banned any surrogacy, meaning that when a surrogate mother has a baby in these nations, whether she likes it or not, she is considered a parent of that child and retains legal custody.
It’s important to note, however, that while Georgia’s constitution awards legal custody and parenthood to hopeful families, and not the surrogate mother, this is only true for male-female couples. Same-sex couples wishing to come to Georiga for surrogate mothers will not have their legal custody recognized and must go to other locations, such as the state of California, in the USA.
Comprehensive Surrogacy
Another major aspect of surrogacy agencies in Georgia is that these agencies are allowed to maintain compensated surrogacies, and thus have a much wider pool of available surrogate mother candidates to choose from. There are two types of surrogacy, finance-wise, altruistic/compassionate surrogacy, and compensated surrogacy. Altruistic, or compassionate surrogacy means that the surrogate mother only receives financial support for her living and medical expenses, and in no way profits from the surrogate motherhood experience. It is an act of generosity.
Compensated surrogacy, however, means that the surrogate mother’s enormous contribution receives financial recognition. While this is more costly to hopeful parents, it also dramatically widens the available pool of candidates willing to donate their time, effort, and uterus to the considerable task of pregnancy and safe childbirth. Surrogacy agencies in Georgia, therefore, have a wide selection of suitable candidates thanks to the fact that compensated surrogacy is legal in the country, not something that every country allows. Canada, for example has only legalized altruistic/compassionate surrogacy, and compensated surrogacies are illegal.
Modern Medical Support & Legalities
As a European nation with a stable, prosperous economy, surrogacy agencies in Georgia can provide a high level of quality medical care to surrogate mothers and their unborn babies. There is no risk here of neglect during the pregnancy, as regular check-ups with qualified medical professionals using modern equipment are always available to surrogate mothers and the hopeful parents that visit the country to make use of the agencies.
Perhaps more importantly, however, once the baby is born, the more comprehensive surrogacy agencies, Georgia can help international parents with the often intimidating requirements of citizenship. Different countries will have different stances on the citizenship status of a surrogate baby. Not taking proper precautions may result in a child being declared “stateless” and not allowed to enter the home country of the new parents. But visiting the right clinic in a country like Georgia means that these legal considerations can be addressed and satisfied to ensure the safe return of a new family their resident country with new baby in tow, legally allowed to enter, and recognized as a citizen of that nation to start a new life there.